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Twisted
Twisted is by KachiUkaia Twisted: Allegiances Prologue: The Awakening Fallensong stared up at her leader, Lizardstar, trying to find something to say.She was certain she didn't deserve to become a warrior, not yet at least. Had her mentor, Embershadow, lied to Lizardstar? She hadn't been the hero of the battle. Looking around at the circle of cats, she saw her littermate, Stonepaw, shooting hatred at their leader. He had been the true hero. Not her. She looked back up at the ThicketClan leader, about to tell her that she'd made a mistake, but suddenly Embershadow's breath tickled her ear. "I pulled so many strings to get you here," he whispered. "Don't back out on me now." Fallensong nodded, but inside she was feeling horrible. She listened as the Clan called her new name and thought about how much of an unworthy cat she was. She hated doing this to Stonepaw. She hated it. But no one argued with Embershadow. It just didn't work that way. ^. .^ Later, Fallensong was miserably trying to fall asleep in the warriors' den. Every time she started to feel her eyes close, she remembered Stonepaw's face as he refused to call her name, refused to meet her gaze. She knew she'd never be able to sleep if his face kept coming back into her mind. Standing up and shaking out her fur, Fallensong made her way to the den's entrance, trying not to step on any cat. Distracted by her thoughts, she almost didn't realize that there was fur underneath her paws until it was almost too late. Backing up, she breathed a sigh of relief. She'd realized in time that she was about to step on Rainstorm's tail. That wouldn't have been pleasant. The blue-and-silver she-cat was really nice, but she was known for being really cranky if she was woken up. Fallensong finally got out of the den. She found herself wondering what it would be like if Rainstorm ever had kits. They'd probably drive her crazy with all their mewling, keeping her up night after night. She dismissed the thought and started walking across the camp in the direction of the apprentices' den. She soon reached the bush that made the den. She circled it silently a few times, trying to pick out Stonepaw's fur between the branches. It didn't help that his fur was dark gray. He'd never had much trouble disappearing into the shadows. Eventually she figured it out, Stonepaw's scent was strongest in the back of the den, and if she looked close enough, she could just make out his fur against the darkness. She carefully reached through the bush and poked Stonepaw in the side. Stonepaw jolted awake at the first touch. "What-" he started to say, until he saw Fallensong standing outside the den begging him with her eyes to be quiet. Dropping his voice, he said, "I'll meet you next to the elders' den." "The elders' den?" Fallensong echoed. "What about Sootfall?" Sootfall was the only elder in ThicketClan at the time. The blue-gray tabby was well known throughout all four Clans for being extremely cranky at all times. Well, other than when she was telling stories to kits, but pretty much the rest of the time. Stonepaw nodded. Fallensong studied his blazing blue eyes for a moment. He looked hurt and upset, although she knew he'd never let the other cats know that. He was too strong for that. Only she could tell; she'd been able to tell since they were kits. She nodded back and started stalking toward the fallen tree that was Sootfall's den. Stonepaw joined her soon enough, and in whispers they started talking to each other. "Why did you want to talk to me?" Stonepaw asked. "It's the middle of the night, you know that." Fallensong hesitated. "I do know that," she agreed. "But I really needed to tell you something about... my warrior ceremony." "Go ahead, then." Fallensong was shocked by the coldness in her littermate's voice. "Well," she stammered out, feeling guiltier by the second, "I think Embershadow did it on purpose. I think he lied to Lizardstar and told her that I was the one who had driven them off, not you." Just by looking into his eyes, the young warrior could tell that her brother was reliving the battle in his mind. She recalled the events, too. A group of five dogs had been found sniffing around ThicketClan territory. The border patrol that found the dogs had sprinted back to the camp, alerting every cat. Lizardstar had sent out a large group of cats to attack, including Fallensong- Fallenpaw, then- Embershadow, and Stonepaw. Stonepaw had been the one to drive off two of the dogs. Unfortunately, he had done it while he and his sister were cornered, so no one except them had seen what he did - except Embershadow, evidently. Fallensong had only found out after the fight was over that he'd been watching from the shadows the entire time. Embershadow had then proceeded to convince the other cats in the attack patrol that she, not Stonepaw, had been the one to drive off the dogs, and it had all fallen apart from there. Stonepaw interrupted her thoughts. "I've been keeping an eye on Embershadow," he confessed. "Something is off about that cat, but I don't know what." Fallensong considered that. "He's been in more battles than some cats put together," she offered. "He's not afraid to fight for what he believes, and he never backs down. But he's also very cunning, and he prefers shadow to light." Stonepaw nodded. "That is true. Please, Fallensong, watch him for anything suspicious. Help me figure this out." Was it her imagination, or did he sound the slightest bit angry when he said her warrior name? Fallensong tried to ignore that hint of anger. "I will," she promised with a sinking heart. She knew now what she'd dreaded since the ceremony. He wanted his warrior name, and who knew what he'd do to get it? She padded back to the warriors' den in silence, leaving him to do whatever he wanted to do. ^. .^ Far away from the ThicketClan camp, two cats stood on the outskirts of BriarClan territory. The two nearly identical black toms were talking quietly in the shadows. "It is almost time," the first, who was larger and more battle-scarred, said. The other, who was a little smaller and had fewer scars, rose to his paws. "I agree," he said in a deep, rumbling voice. "The Awakening will happen soon." His amber eyes glinted in the little bit of moonlight that touched them. "It will happen soon." Chapter One: Dewtail Fallensong sat impatiently, waiting for the little kits to get bored of her tail. Mistkit and Foxkit were the kits of Branchtail and Frostheart, and they had been driving her crazy since sunup. The kits were cute, and everyone agreed on that- except maybe Embershadow, who didn't do 'cute'- but they had an annoying habit of play-ambushing the younger warriors just as they were about to leave for a patrol. Eventually Fallensong just scrambled to her paws, knocking the kits off, and sprinted over to join the rest of her patrol. "Let's go," she hissed, and charged out of camp. The others, amused by but used to the kits' behavior, followed behind her. She slowed down once they were a decent distance from camp. The others on the patrol- Rippleflower, Dewtail, Hollowbirch, and the new apprentice Rosepaw- were all panting as they caught up with her. Dewtail, a gray tom with intelligent blue eyes, was the first to reach her. "It's not a race," he teased, playfully cuffing her ear with his paw. "I'm the leader of this patrol, and I say we go as slow as..." He paused for a moment. "Hedgehogs!" Rosepaw squealed. "We could go as slow as hedgehogs!" Dewtail nodded, smiling, but he rolled his eyes at Fallensong. She rolled hers back. Apprentices. Fallensong let the more experienced warrior take the lead. She was burning underneath her fur. Do I like him? ''she asked herself. ''I mean, it looks like he likes me. So maybe ...? She left that question hanging as she followed Dewtail. I'll think about it some other time. She found herself smiling as she walked, though. ^. .^ The next night was cold and dark. Fallensong shivered in the warriors' den. As a newer warrior, she slept on the outskirts of the den, where it was colder. Suddenly she felt a pelt brush hers. Dewtail had come out of his position near the middle of the den to come to her nest. Fallensong tried to stammer out something that wouldn't sound embarrassed or rude or hint at her feelings for him. "I, uh, well... you're... um... hello, Dewtail..." The tom smiled in the darkness. "Yes, hello, Fallensong." He curled up around her, making her feel warm - not just because he had come from the warm center of the den, but also because she suspected both of them had deeper feelings than they were letting on. Finally she fell asleep, with the gray-furred warrior right there next to her. ^. .^ Fallensong scrambled to her paws, knocking Dewtail away. He blinked up at her in confusion as she paced around in her nest. "Fallensong, what is it?" he asked. She started at the sound of his voice. "Oh," she said quietly. "I'm sorry, Dewtail." "Bad dreams?" he meowed sympathetically. "Something like that." Fallensong collapsed back into her nest and closed her eyes without another word, not inviting him to come back in. Dewtail silently walked away. Fallensong opened one eye and made sure he was back in his own nest, then rolled over to look at the stars through the ceiling of the den. How can I ever tell him? ''she thought miserably. ''There's no way I could explain that I had a dream about his death. '' In the past, Fallensong had had dreams about horrible events. They'd scared her, but they became even worse when she actually saw them come true. As a young kit, she was scared out of her mind when she had dreams about deaths that happened soon after. She'd never spoken a word to anyone about any of them because she didn't want anyone to think she was supposed to be a medicine cat. She liked Jaysong, the ThicketClan medicine cat, but that didn't mean she wanted to spend the rest of her life at her side. She was a ''warrior. ''If StarClan had intended for her to be a medicine cat, they'd have told her sooner. Or had the dreams been warnings? ''No. ''She shook the thought aside. ''I am a warrior. I will always be a warrior. No stupid dreams could ever change that. '' She sank into a restless sleep and didn't dream again that night. ^. .^ The two black toms met on the border again, as they had begun to do every night since they first heard about the Awakening. The larger cat spoke first. "Have you done anythng about that stupid nuisance your Clan calls Mottlekit?" he said, curling his lip in distaste. The smaller cat hesitated in a very uncharacteristic way. "Well," he began, trying to sound confident, "Flashfur and Mudstripe are very protective of their first kit. But I have begun to win Flashfur's trust by hinting that I would do anything to protect her kit." "Protect it?" the bigger tom hissed. "Blackfrost, you're supposed to try and steal the kit to aid in the Awakening!" Blackfrost nodded. "I know," he said with a small smile. "The Awakening will not destroy the kits who power it; it will only destroy the Clans they come from. So, if I bring him to help with the Awakening, I will be protecting him." "True," the first agreed. "You have learned to think well." A third cat padded up, bringing with him the scent of BrambleClan. He, too, was a powerful black tom with amber eyes. "I'm sorry I'm late, Embershadow," he said, dipping his head to the bigger of the other two. "I kept getting held up. But I'm here now, and look what I brought." He stepped aside, revealing three kits: a silver and black tom, a golden she-kit, and a small white tom. Embershadow narrowed his eyes with pleasure. "Very good, Shadowheart," he praised the BrambleClan cat. "I had my doubts about you, but you have proven yourself worthy of surviving the Awakening. Very good." Blackfrost nodded in agreement. "Now all we need is to snatch the kits from ThicketClan and BriarClan, and to find an ally from RootClan." Embershadow began to pad away. "Yes. The Gathering is happening soon. Try to hunt down a RootClan cat there, but do not let yourself be seen with another ally." He paused to look back at them. "It could ruin the entire Awakening." With that, he disappeared into the shadows of ThicketClan territory. Chapter Two: The Gathering Fallensong walked miserably behind her Clanmates. They were going to the Gathering, and Lizardstar would announce her warrior ceremony. Now BriarClan, BrambleClan, and RootClan would all think she was the brave one. She glanced at her littermate, who was walking near the front of the group. He hadn't looked at her the entire time. ''What must he think of this? ''she wondered sadly. We know the truth, that he saved me, but he won't be recognized as the hero. I will. I don't even deserve this! She suddenly became aware of a cat walking next to her. She looked to each side, but no one was there. Confused, she slowed her pace and called softly, "Who's there?" She felt an odd breeze ruffle her fur. Turning in small circles, she tried to spot the mysterious cat. "Who are you?" she asked, trying to keep the panic from her voice. Suddenly the breeze died down, and she caught the scent of cat. It wasn't the scent of any cat she had ever smelled before. It didn't even have a distinctive Clan scent. ''Is it a rogue? ''she wondered. ''A kittypet, maybe, or a stray loner? A cat stepped out from the shadows. Her fur was laced with stars, and she was almost transparent. With a jolt, Fallensong realized who the cat was. "Greetings, Fallensong," the cat said, dipping her head in a way that made the stars ripple across her pelt. Transfixed, Fallensong could only gape. The StarClan cat purred and said, "This is a common reaction. I am Shootingstar. You might recall the stories about me." Of course Fallensong remembered the stories about her! "Cats tell about a pure white cat who soars across the sky on silver wings," she stammered. "They say the cat has a special gift to give, but she only visits one special cat every four generations." A sudden realization came over Fallensong. "Am I the special cat?" Shootingstar smiled. "Yes, young warrior. I have come to bestow upon you the gift of unconditional bravery. Use it to its full potential. If you use it correctly, you could save the four Clans." "Save them?" Fallensong echoed, a sense of dread creeping up her spine. "Save them from what? What if I fail? Will the Clans be destroyed because of me?" Shootingstar shook her head. "I cannot tell you the answers you seek," she said regretfully. "What I can tell you is that when the time comes, you must not trust the stone casting shadows within the thickets. When rain falls over the roses, you must seek the darkest roots. There your answers will be found." "What do you mean?" Fallensong whispered, the panic beginning to overwhelm her. "I cannot answer your questions," Shootingstar said. She was beginning to fade. "When rain falls over the roses..." The legendary she-cat was gone. As Fallensong raced to catch up with her Clan, Shootingstar's last words echoed in her ears. You must seek the darkest roots. There your answers will be found. Fallensong gasped for breath. Her Clanmates gave her odd looks, but none of them seemed to have realized her pause. The darkest roots, ''she thought. ''I wonder what that means. '' Dewtail stopped walking until she caught up with him. "Are you alright?" he asked, authentic concern in his voice. "You're out of breath." He halted. "You aren't carrying ''kits, ''are you?" "I don't know," Fallensong replied wearily. "Come on. We have to keep up." She mustered as much energy as she could and raced to catch up with the rest of the Clan. Dewtail watched her a second longer, then followed her. "Are you sure you're okay?" he called up to Fallensong. ''When is anything okay? ''Fallensong thought to herself. But to Dewtail she replied, "Don't worry about me. I'm fine." Shootingstar's voice echoed in her ears again. ''You must not trust the stone casting shadows within the thickets. When rain falls over the roses, you must seek the darkest roots. There your answers will be found. There my answers will be found. What does it mean? ^. .^ Finally they arrived at the Gathering. Fallensong followed her Clan as they rushed down into the dip that made the Gathering area.